The situation at the Kursk nuclear power plant is serious, Grossi says during visit

The situation at the Kursk nuclear power plant is serious, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said today. The facility is operating under almost normal conditions, but there is a risk of a nuclear incident, Reuters reported. The IAEA chief visited the plant in western Russia today in connection with Ukraine’s incursion into the border region of Kursk earlier this month.

Russia also accused Ukraine last week of attempting a drone attack on the facility and has repeatedly said that Ukraine is attacking it.

The Kursk nuclear power plant is still operating, which makes the situation even more serious, Grossi warned at a press conference. He also noted that the facility has no containment dome, making it extremely vulnerable.

In the first days of its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army seized Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, considered the largest in Europe. Ukrainian officials warned at the time that Russia was shelling the nuclear power plant and that a fire had broken out there. The Russian forces took control of it, and since then both sides have accused each other of shelling the plant. The IAEA has repeatedly warned of the threat of a nuclear accident at the facility.